


Backstage

by Linkleberri



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, What are titles, also the first few paragraphs are terrible and I apologise, len is meant to seem kinda gloomy, more relationships and characters to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:32:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7622335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linkleberri/pseuds/Linkleberri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To find a purpose. (uncontinued)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I. Raindrops - [Len]

_There's only one thing I remember about my mother._

It was a cold and gloomy December 27th when I, Len, was born, just a couple minutes short of my twin sister Rin. Our mirrors had already been born a year before us, who were our cousins, Kagamine Rinto and Lenka. We were the reflections of those original images - two perfectly matching twins, one soft and gentle and the other friendly and confident, turned apathetic and silent, brash and awkward.

That's just how it goes, with mirrors. Platonic soulmates in a strange kind of sense. Like a mirror image, together or apart; hence the nickname of a 'mirror'.

My mother never had one.

~~~

A bicycle bell brings me back to my senses. Gravel crunches under my feet, a busy intersection bustling before me. The sky is grey, with pollution or with the impending early winter rain I'm not sure. I am, however, sure, that my caretaker won't mind if my body is brought back a little mauled, a little lifeless, a single figure in a car accident on the news.

My shoes tap on the concrete stairs, leading up to a bridge over the motorway. A small bridge, with netting covering both sides, preventing 'accidental' falls into the path of a passing truck. Past that there's the small set of apartments, hidden by shrubbery, where cats mewl at passers-by. A tiny black kitten steps forwards towards my school shoes, then darts back into the bushes.

I pass the car dealer and wait idly near the lamppost for a couple seconds. Luka is always the first to arrive. She looks just as cold and unapproachable as always, having come from a strict family with unreachable expectations. I hear she lives on her own, now.

Her dull pink hair is hastily tied up in the same two yellow ribbons as they are on every Wednesday, the cold winter breeze thrashing them about. A red, heart-patterned scarf is around her neck, presumably Meiko's gift from Valentine's. She doesn't usually wear it but I'm guessing she doesn't prepare for days colder than her demeanour.

"Hey," I murmur in greeting.

She flickers her icy eyes towards me before staring ahead again. "Good morning," she replies, and that's all.

Well, almost all.

"LUKA-CHAAAAAAAN!" squeals a familiar voice, mature-sounding, personality anything but. Meiko runs down the path towards us, completely missing me as she tackles her girlfriend, arms wide open in a hug. The pink-haired girl barely flinches - she's gotten used to it over the course of their time together.

The brown-haired blur stills, cheerleading team recruitment papers flying out of her keychain-adorned schoolbag as she squeezes 'Luka-chan' tightly. The taller girl smiles a little before whispering back a quiet hello.

And this is how it always goes with our little group - me with the quieter (for the most part) seniors, walking to school on our own, without the rest of my family. Lenka typically goes to school with Miku now that they're dating, and Rin and Rinto, the other 'Kagamine mirrors', quickly found out how boring I was after our first few years of life together. And then quickly ditched me. In kindergarten.

That's how it's always been, and that's how it'll always go.

~~~

I sigh.

Finally. I'm so close to the school gates, I can almost taste their thirty-year-old cobwebs and rusty metal bars and that multicoloured puke from last year's graduation story when--

"Oi! Where d'ya think  _you're_ going without me!?" someone screeches in my ear. I look up slowly and see a mess of well-brushed, shiny, yellow hair, an oversized white bow, and the angriest face you could ever see on a sixteen-year-old - yup, definitely my twin sister, Rin.

"You  _asshole!"_ Her still-damp hair drips water on my face as she pins me to the gate, spitting at me with rage. "You left me there in the shower! I  _told_ you to get my uniform and you just  _left_!"

I study her face with a blank, apathetic expression.

She continues. "And to top it off, you stole the last towel! Rinto almost saw me  _naked_!"

"Wouldn't be the first time," I mutter under my breath.

" _What was THAT?"_ Rin glowered, a menacing aura surrounding her features. " _Look, Lenny. I'll let you off the hook this time. But if there's a next time--"_

Luka cuts her off. "Nice fashion choice today," motioning to the haphazardly chosen multicoloured hairclips stuffed in her bangs. "Have fun in detention because I don't think pink and green is allowed at school." She leaves, Meiko trailing behind her.

Shoving my surprised twin off of me with a little more force than necessary, I adjust my bag strap and continue into the school gates.

~~~

"Thanks for saving me back there, Megurine-sempai," I whisper, walking down the level two hallway. A smile tugs at the corners of her lips.

"Anytime," she whispers back.

Gakupo waves at us from his locker, beckoning us to come over.

"Morning, Len! ....Megurine-sempai, Meiko-chan," he greets. He's about to comment on one (or both) of the girls' breast sizes to me, but a green-haired girl cuts him off.

"IT'S DAT GAKU!!" she yells, goggles covering her eyes, waving around a rather inappropriate manga as she runs into the student in question. Gakupo lies on the floor, probably dizzy from the crash, as Megpoid sits up and dusts her uniform off.

"Mornin, ladies~" she winks, pointing finger guns at them.

She turns, aiming the finger guns up at me. "And also Banana Boy." I roll my eyes.

"Look, Megpoid, get off of Gakupo-kun and help him up," I say, keeping an unimpressed expression on my face.

The girl stares back at Gakupo before shrugging. "I dunno, I think he likes it on the floor," she says, nonchalantly, and then bursts into laughter.

"Well, since Gaku's not conscious enough to listen to my yaoi ramblings, I'll just scream at Meiko's face," she says, seemingly to herself. "Catch ya later, lil' man." She winks again and grabs Meiko by her elbow, dragging her off.

Luka sighs. "See you at break, I guess," and she follows Gumi down the stairs.

I stare after them, then turn towards the long-haired purple giant. He's about to mention  _that_ again when I decide to speak. "I'm not Rin, you know," I say, deadpan. "I'm not into girls like that."

Gakupo just shrugs. "You're missing out," he says picking up his bag. "See ya."

I sigh as I pull up my hand-me-down gakuran's collar. This is going to be a long, long year.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~


	2. II. Dreary - [Len]

_My least favourite lesson._

English.

So boring. I don't understand anything at all, just a couple of important phrases such as 'hello' and 'thank you' and 'road roller'. Well, actually, Rinto taught me the last one. I'm not really sure what it means, though...

Sparrows on the windowsill chirp at me, tilting their heads.

I didn't sleep well yesterday. My eyelids still feel heavy, but when I try to close them, I see flashes, of ghosts or nightmares I don't know... and they're gone. There's more tension in my body - I can feel it, but I can't understand it. The windowsill bumps my fingers as I try to discreetly stretch my arms. 

But the clock ticks on.

~~~

Miku's hair is a mess when we sit down in the library for study period. Her movements are slow, and her shoulders are tense. She avoids my gaze as I organise my notes, flipping my novel open to copy a quotation.

"How's your extra maths going?" I ask, looking up. It's better to strike up a conversation than wander in that empty void of silence like last time. 

Her short teal pigtails bob about in the air as she nods slightly.

"Nice to hear." I murmur, slightly sarcastic.

The rest of study period is a quiet exchange of nods and whispered questions. A blonde teacher walks over to us, slender figure in an American-style schoolgirl's outfit. Her features are young and lightly tanned, her eyes a twinkling blue. She leans over the table for a second, checking Miku's work, before she continues plodding through the library.

Miku stares down at the table, busily scrawling on a blank page as she reads her manga. She seems awfully quiet today. I can't help staring at her nose... it seems even more crooked than usual. Then again, that may just be me.

"Do you like her?" she whispers, out of the blue. "Lily-sensei, I mean."

I stare blankly at Miku before contemplating. I don't really know her very well, but she seems rather nice. I can safely assume she's likeable due to the large amounts of students that like her... Her shining blonde hair steals my vision for a second and I try to focus my gaze back towards Miku.

"Yes," I say. "I guess. Why do you ask?"

Her eyes dart to where Lily is standing and focus back on me.

"Gumi," she replies, hesitantly, then clears her throat. "Megpoid. It's for Megpoid."

"Oh," I say, and that's all.

Her weary-looking eyes stare up at me, and she pauses in her writing. "You feeling okay? I'd expect more sarcasm from you than that."

How did she know? Was it the way I held myself today? I didn't think I looked more tired than usual, so I suppose she's just incredibly attentive to body language. Must be like that, coming from a tense family. 

"It's just... homework. Stress. Is all."

She seems satisfied with this answer and silently resumes writing down her notes.

"You seem nicer today, as well," I comment, words slipping out of my mouth before I have a chance to think through them. "Nicer than you usually are."

Her incessant scribbling ends abruptly and the air is thick with strained emotion. My lips, I notice, are awfully dry. I find myself chewing on them. My brain feels like it's made of Miku's handwriting.

Shit.

I should go.

I don't go.

"Am I not nice?" she says, and she's trembling. Strands of teal hair fall in front of her face and conceal her expression. "I'm trying my hardest, but I'm still not good enough, right?"

I blink. "No, no... It's just--"

As if ignoring me, she continues. "Am I really that hard to be around? It was just a mistake to keep me, right?" Tilting her head downwards, she sighs. "But it's okay. I'm just a useless child."

"I.... Are you saying I'm making you uncomfortable?" I ask, concern overtaking awkwardness. "Because if you want me to leave--"

"You are not worthy," she interrupts, pulling on her pigtails, her head being pulled along, "You are not worth the agony," yanking down hard, voice getting raspier, louder, as she progresses, "You are not worth anything I do," sobbing now, "You--"

I cut her off before the librarian comes over.

"...Nice talking to you," is all I say in reply as I straighten my papers, dog-ear my page and stand up to leave.

~~~

What I was not expecting was a huge cardboard tree in front of my face as I exited the library.

"Ugh--!" I utter, gripping onto the roughly-painted branches of the prop to balance myself, tilting the stupid thing ever-so-slightly forwards. The voice that comes from the other side is like a repeat of my own, only slightly higher - and I relax a little.

"H-Hi, Len-kun!" She sounds like she's struggling.

"Lenka-nee, what are you doing?" I inquire, propping up the cardboard tree. She grunts and stands to her full height.

"Transporting props!" She exclaims, rather proudly at that, "For the play! Megurine's singing this time."

"....The play?" I repeat, puzzled. "What play?"

"The play that Megurine's putting on? It's to fundraise for the social," Lenka smiles. "You should join, it'd be good for extra-curricular. Now help me," She utters a low noise from the strain of picking up the prop, "get this thing to the stage."

"So they'll be there until the end of the production... Doesn't that mean we'll be eating lunch outside now?" I point out.

She nods. "Mhm."

"But... Isn't Hatsune allergic to, like... nature?" I'd heard Megpoid talking on the phone with Rin about listing her likes and dislikes, and I'm sure flowers had been in the latter.

Lenka tilted her head. "I thought she said it was getting better, so it should be fine. But I'll check. Thanks, Len-kun," she beams.

"....No problem."

~~~

"Argh," I pant, gasping for breath, "How the hell is this cardboard  _thing_  so heavy!?"

It takes Lenka a while to reply, but she makes it. "We had to prop it up with metal poles on the back," she says, taking another second to breathe, "They hook together with the other props."

I grimace, not wanting to reply. The prop would have a foot-shaped mark in it if I wasn't too exhausted to kick the darn thing.

"Hey!" Meiko chirps, cutting me off. The plastic clipboard in her hand matches the colour of her red school sweater. "I saw you talking to Miku while I was on break," she beckons me over and smiles. "You think you could coax her to join the actors for our play?"

My face scrunches up in disdain. "You do realise I'm not even friends with her, right?" I'd already tried to talk to her and look how that'd turned out. I can't even begin to understand why Rin's so interested in her...

Meiko pouts (rather childishly, at that). "Aww, come on! I missed out cheerleading practice for this, and we really need someone to play Michaela. She looks exactly like her!" Her eyebrows turn upwards. "Pleeeeeease?" she begs, completing the look with puppy dog eyes.

As much she cared about her cheerleading, it wasn't enough to get me to talk to Hatsune again. I push her away playfully with my palm on her forehead. "Sorry, but no, Meiko-sempai," I say, annoyed. Honestly, if she's a senior then why does she act even more childish than Rin!? It bothered me to no end. How Megurine-sempai handles this is beyond me.

"....You're no fun, Len-kun," She replies, "But that's okay. We'll just put you in a wig and make  _you_  Michaela!"

Her index finger jabs into my ribs and I flinch at the thought of me acting so... cheery. Feminine, more like.

"No thank you. At all. Please." I back away slowly, sitting on one of the back row seats.

Meiko shrugs. "I was kidding..."

"...Sort of," she adds, 

~~

Turns out, I was the only one fit to play Allen Avadonia, which meant I'd still be crossdressing. And to make matters worse, we'd spent most of our supplies on props and  armour and capes, so we didn't have a ballgown (well, why would we in the first place?) ...Other than that disgusting old one in the storeroom that may or may not be eaten by rats already. So. Yeah.

But that meant I had to find a dress, ASAP. I could borrow some heels from Rin, since she never wears them anyway (they're secretly too small for her feet, but she doesn't want to admit it). So that only leaves...

"Lenka," I ask, "By any chance, do you own a ballgown?"

Lenka places her reading glasses on the dining table and blinks, poker face intact.

"Did you get cast as Rillaine?"

"Good lord, no!" I sputter, burying my face in my hands. She bursts into a fit of chortles and pats my shoulder, but it does nothing to stop the blush.

"I'm kidding," I raise my head as she continues, "Rinto actually got cast as her. Go figure, am I right? Rin couldn't fake tears well enough."

A smile twitches at my lips. "That's--"

And suddenly we're assaulted by Tom Jones.

My shoulders droop and I groan. "Speak of the devil."

"What's new, pussycat? ....Pussycats?" remarks Rinto, correcting himself.

"Len-kun needs a ballgown," Lenka briefly states.

Rinto lets out a snort. "What, did he get cast as Rill--"

"I already made that joke," deadpans Lenka. "And my dresses are mostly casual, so they won't really work."

"Mm," says Rinto, and after a moment of pondering, replies. "Shouldn't we leave this up to whoever gets cast as Rillaine?"

"You're Rillaine," counters Lenka. "So it's your and Len-kun's problem."

Rinto's eyebrows shoot up and his mouth stops moving (for once.) "Wait... seriously!? I got the part as Rillaine!? I only auditioned as a joke, and--"

"Well, you got the part." says Lenka, fishing about in her bag. "I got a copy of the cast list."

Rinto's hands shoot out to grab the paper, crumpling it in his haste. "Oh my god," he gasps.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to study." She picks up her laptop and walks upstairs.

"Big deal." I brush my bangs out of my eyes. "You got the part, you get to kill a bunch of people, then you die. Wow, very exciting."

He ignores me. "I know where to find the ballgown," he grabs my hands, "Tomorrow, after school. We take the bus downtown to the port, and--"

"No," I assert, "You're going. And I know you're going to leave me behind. Remember that time when you said 'meet me at the 711 after school' because you had something to show me? I missed the last bus and had to walk home." I emphasise the walk, because the apartment block we live in isn't exactly the closest place to the school.

"Oh," he says. "Whoops. I'll make it up to you."

"No, you won't."

"There's a bar downtown!" he continues, "I'll take you there. They've probably got second-hand dresses or something we can use! Please, Len? Please?"

"...You seem eager, but I'm still not going unless you promise to come."

"Promise!" He grins. "Tomorrow after school, next to the train station."

I sigh. It's not like there's anything else to do. Gotta get that ballgown, am I right?

"...See you, then."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~


End file.
